Integral heavy duty door knob



July 4, 1967 w B; w so I 3,329,458

INTEGRAL HEAVY DUTY DOOR KNOB Origihal Filed Nqv. 2Q, 1962 Inve nf-orz bbilliom Bbdilson RHornegS United States Patent 3,329,458 INTEGRAL HEAVY DUTY DOOR KNOB William B. Wilson, Corona, Califi, assignor to Robert H. Miller and F. Louis Behrends, Peoria, 11]., joint tenants Original application Nov. 20, 1962, Ser. No. 238,973, now

Patent No. 3,200,630, dated Aug. 17, 1965. Divided and this application May 28, 1965, Ser. No. 459,721

4 Claims. (Cl. 292-347) This is a division of application Ser. No. 238,973, filed Nov. 20, 1962, now Patent No. 3,200,630, issued Aug. 17, 1965.

The present invention relates to the production of onepiece heavy duty door knobs for builders locks or lock sets, and in which the knob and its integral inner tubular part are extruded of a slug of brass, stainless steel or other suitable metal in a high energy metal working or ex trusion press to provide a cupped member having concentric tubular parts the outer of which forms the knob and the inwardly spaced tubular part integrally formed with the end wall or face of the knob.

Although it is common practice to produce door knobs from a round blank of sheet metal by plural drawing or expanding operations resulting in a one-piece sheet metal knob having an exernal reduced neck portion, such are necessarily of a relatively light weight and incapable of use where a heavy duty knob is desired or required.

It is also common practice to reinforce such knobs formed by plural drawing or expanding operations with a separate insert, such as a die casting, capable of joining the knob to the spindle of a door lock. Such production not only requires plural parts but also plural operations to nest these parts together and then securely join them against disassembly.

Manufacturers of heavy duty knobs vary somewhat in the methods employed in their production, but generally such heavy duty knobs consist of an outer shell, an inner shell, an inner tube and a dished washer all joined together in rigid assembly. A typical commercial production of such heavy duty knobs requires approximately five stages of draws in forming the outer shell; a similar number of stages or draws are required to form the inner shell which is nested within and substantially conforms to the inner contour of the outer shell; the inner tube requires a milled slot and side operations; and the dished washer requires a blanking and forming stage. Next, the separate inner tube, washer and inner shell are soldered and their assembly inserted into the outer shell after which the nested inner and outer shells are rolled in and retained assembled by frictional contact.

Such prior methods of producing heavy duty knob assemblies necessarily embody multiple parts and require multiple operations in their assembly, are expensive to produce and lack the inherent strength and rigidity of an integral or one-piece knob unit produced in accordance with the present invention.

Although one-piece door knobs have been produced as pointed out above from sheet metal blanks by plural drawing operations or hydraulic expansion, so far as I am aware integral or one-piece heavy duty knobs are incapable of being produced in any similar or equivalent manner. Furthermore, only recently have metal working presses been developed with sufficiently high energy to be capable of extruding from a slug or billet of brass or stainless steel for use in the production of heavy duty knobs in the manner disclosed in my parent application Ser. No. 238,973, filed Nov. 20, 1962, now Patent No. 3,200,630, issued Aug. 17, 1965.

Thus the present invention comprehends the manufacture of a novel cupped extrusion unit for a one-piece heavy duty door knob.

A further important object and advantage of extruding the knob in a high energy press is that the metal is always in compression which tends to improve the grain structure and this in turn improves the general appearance of the knob and requires but a minimum of bufiing.

In comparison, in a knob whose outer shell is formed by drawing in any manner, the metal is always in tension which in turn opens up the grain structure which degrades the general appearance of the knob resulting in socalled orange peel, and such entails heavier buffing, etc.

Another important object of the present invention comprehends forming the inner tube for receiving an operational tubular part of the lock assembly.

Further objects are to provide a construction of maximum simplicity, efficiency, economy and ease of assembly and operation, and such further objects, advantages and capabilities as will later more fully appear and are inherently possessed thereby.

In the drawing:

FIG. 1 is a horizontal cross-sectional view of an embodiment of the novel knob and integral tube assembly, the view being taken on the line 11 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 2 is a view in end elevation of the integral knob and tube assembly of FIG. 1, the view being taken from the inner end thereof.

Referring to the disclosure in the drawing and to the novel illustrative embodiment therein shown, the present invention comprehends a novel heavy duty knob unit formed by impacting a slug or billet of metal, such as brass or stainless steel, to form a one-piece knob unit consisting of the knob 10 and its integral inner tubular part 11 projecting rearwardly through the knob from its end wall 12. Unlike prior means and methods of producing heavy duty knobs requiring the assembly and attachment of preformed plural parts, after which the outer and inner shells are rolled together to maintain tight frictional engagement, the present invention comprehends extruding a cupped member having concentric tubular parts in a high energy press to form an integral knob and tube.

In the embodiment shown, the interior of the knob 10 is provided with a stop 13 for an encompassing operational part such as a cylinder of a lock mechanism for actuating a latch bolt. Also, the inner tubular part 11 is provided with an internal stop 14 and with external embossments 15. The extended inner tubular part 11 is milled to provide a longitudinal slot 16 for a key lock assembly and whatever other side operations are required for mounting the finished integral knob and tube assembly to the projected end of a tubular cam member or spindle of a lock assembly in a door.

The outer tubular part 17 of the knob is rolled in at 18 to give to the finished knob 10 the desired shape. It is to be understood that where the knob is intended for use with a passage door devoid of any locking means, the outer face or end wall 12 of the knob may be retained devoid of an opening, but in the event the knob is intended to receive a cylinder lock, push or turn button, this face 12 is provided with a central opening conformably receiving and mounting the cylinder, push or turn button. Or this face may be provided with an access opening or slot for insertion of a key or other suitable instrument capable of releasing in an emergency the latching means of a privacy lock such as used in the door of a bathroom.

It will be appreciated that the simplified construction of knob and its inner tubular part formed integral in this novel manner not only eliminates the necessity for the plural parts previously required but also the numerous steps in forming and uniting of plural parts as previously required in producing knobs capable of heavy duty use, thus effecting a substantial saving in material, time and labor.

By extruding the knob in a high energy press, there 3 is the important advantage that the metal is always in compression resulting in an improved grain structure which greatly improves the general appearance of the knob and requires a minimium of buffing.

Having thus disclosed the invention, I claim:

1. An integral one-piece heavy duty door knob and internal tube assembly to provide an end wall and con centric tubular parts projecting rearwardly from the end wall, the outer tubular part forming a knob and the inner tubular part forming an internal tube for mounting the knob and for receiving an operational tubular part of a lock assembly for a door, said outer tubular par-t having its rear end rolled inwardly toward the inner tubular part, said inner tubular part having a longitudinal slot, and a radially extending internal embossment formed on the end wall aligned with the longitudinal slot and extending integrally between the outer surface of the inner tubular part and the interior surface of the outer tubular part.

2. An integral one-piece heavy duty door knob as set forth in claim 1, including a longitudinally extending internal projection on the internal surface of the inner tubular part diametrically opposite the longitudinal slot. 3. An integral one-piece heavy duty door knob as set forth in claim 2, including circumferentially spaced external longitudinal embossments on the cylindrical surface of the inner tubular part.

4. An integral one-piece heavy duty door knob as set forth in claim 1, in which the metal forming the knob is in compression resulting in an improved grain structure and appearance.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,163,101 8/1939 Newton 292-348 2,273,190 2/1942 Harrison 292--347 2,451,773 10/1948 POuX 339278 2,662,388 12/1953 Hillgren 292169 X 2,839,913 6/1958 Friedman et a1. 70--216X 2,936,191 5/1960 Kublk 292347 2,976,073 3/1961 Russell et al. 292-347 3,012,808 12/1961 Zion 292-347 3,044,817 7/1962 Marcante 292347 X 3,066,523 12/1962 Crepinsek 70150 MARVIN A. CHAMPION, Primary Examiner.

RICHARD E. MOORE, Examiner. 

1. AN INTEGRAL ONE-PIECE HEAVY DUTY DOOR KNOB AND INTERNAL TUBE ASSEMBLY TO PROVIDE AN END WALL AND CONCENTRIC TUBULAR PARTS PROJECTING REARWARDLY FROM THE END WALL, THE OUTER TUBULAR PART FORMING A KNOB AND THE INNER TUBULAR PART FORMING AN INTERNAL TUBE FOR MOUNTING THE KNOB AND FOR RECEIVING AN OPERATIONAL TUBULAR PART OF A LOCK ASSEMBLY FOR A DOOR, SAID OUTER TUBULAR PART HAVING ITS REAR END ROLLED INWARDLY TOWARD THE INNER TUBULAR PART, SAID INNER TUBULAR PART HAVING A LONGITUDINAL SLOT, AND A RADIALLY EXTENDING INTERNAL EMBOSSMENT FORMED ON THE END WALL ALIGNED WITH THE LONGITUDINAL SLOT AND EXTENDING INTEGRALLY BETWEEN THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE INNER TUBULAR PART AND THE DIAMETER SURFACE OF THE OUTER TUBULAR PART. 